"AAAAH!"
Samuel was knocked to the ground as Erik watched in increasing alarm as the older man's stone armor, which had taken the brunt of the attack, visibly cracked after the blow. The Thaid's monstrous strength was a terrifying spectacle.
Erik reacted quickly and channeled his mana through his neural links, focusing on his duty to divert the attention of the Thaid away from Samuel, who was lying on the ground.
He thrust himself forward, the air around him crackling with the accumulated force energy, and aimed his attack squarely at the Thaid.
The problem was that Erik felt his energy reserves dwindle. He'd pushed his powers to their limits, flooding his very being with the ethereal substance to keep pace with the humanoid thaid. That was the advantage of brain crystal powers as they allowed to make up the difference in strength if all the available mana was used, but clearly, that also meant the mana reserves would deplete faster.
Each quick dodging maneuver, each swift darting movement, and each punch thrown with supercharged strength drained more of his reserves than the previous one.
He was beginning to sense the weariness starting to overtake him—a bone-deep fatigue threatening to drag him down. Erik knew that, even though he had done everything in his power, it would not be enough.
The Thaid was a natural phenomenon—a ruthless predator propelled by unquenchable rage and ravenous hunger.
Erik was exhausted and couldn't keep up the fight for much longer. Yet, amidst the grim realization, Erik spotted something. A glimmer of hope. A faint possibility of success.
The Thaid, despite its seemingly unstoppable power, was not unscathed. The wounds he and Samuel managed to inflict on it were taking their toll.
Samuel's stone armor amplified the power of his blows, which caused deep gashes to appear on the beast's body. In particular, the head wound appeared in much worse shape than before.
Purplish blood seeped from the savage wound, dripping into the Thaid's ghastly eyes, blurring its gaze.
The beast was staggering slightly, its balance thrown off by the nasty head injury. Its movements were slower; its reactions were delayed. The monster that had once seemed invincible was starting to falter.
Considering their circumstances, this was a ray of light in the darkness. Erik's heart pounded fiercely in his chest, fuelled by the sight. He needed to make his last contribution count.
As he charged at the humanoid monster, the young man yelled, his voice echoing through the metallic corridors, serving its purpose of distraction.
"COME HERE, YOU STUPID BEAST!"
The Thaid's yellow eyes flickered in his direction as it turned to confront the young man once more, its hideous face contorting into an angry grimace. A short scuffle ensued, with Erik again diverting the monster's attention by weakly attacking and keeping as much distance as possible from the monster.
It bought Samuel enough time to recharge and get his bearings together, a time during which he could reassemble his mana armor and gather his strength for the upcoming battle.
Erik looked over at the older man, silently hoping he had noticed their opponent's deteriorating condition too. Samuel needed to strike now while the beast was weakened.
"Samuel!"
The cavernous metallic room reverberated with Erik's voice, each syllable ricocheting off the tall tanks and the ancient, rusty walls.
Because of the adrenaline and fear, his breathing was erratic, his body was trembling, and his eyes were wide open.
He was pushed to his breaking point, and his mana was close to running out. His words came out as a desperate plea, choked with the bitter reality of his helplessness.
"I can't help you anymore! I have no mana left!" he shouted, his voice ricocheting off the hollow remnants of the underground lab. "You have to kill it now!"
His words were delivered with a desperation that was even more unsettling than any monstrous roars the beast had let out. It was the natural, human cry of a young man driven to the edge and clinging to hope no bigger than a thread.
It was a plea for victory against the odds, and its eerie reverberation could be heard all across the scene of the chaotic destruction. Even though he was having a hard time, Samuel turned to look at Erik.
Samuel, amid his struggle, turned to look at Erik. His face was a mask of concentration and determination, but the weight of the young man's words was not lost on him. With a grim nod, he turned back to face the monstrous humanoid Thaid, his resolve hardened by the urgency in Erik's voice.
It seemed as though the air in the room became denser as if to give tacit recognition to the seriousness of the situation. The rate at which Samuel breathed slowed down, and the intensity of his focus increased.
Every thud and every collision that resulted from the monster's frantic movements seemed to reverberate in time with the beating of his own heart—the moment had come for the decisive push in the race.
The older man was aware of the responsibility that was bestowed upon him. He was aware of the actions that were required of him. He took a long, steady breath before preparing himself for the fight that was about to begin.
Samuel's breathing slowed, and his focus sharpened. Each crash and clash of the monster's frenzied movements seemed to resonate in time with the pounding of his heart.
Now was the time for the final push. He knew the burden that lay upon him. He understood what he had to do. With a deep, steadying breath, he prepared himself for the battle that lay ahead, aware of the monumental task he had to achieve - to kill the beast. And so, with one last glance at Erik, Samuel charged towards the Thaid, his stone-armored fists ready for the decisive strike.
"Get out!" Samuel commanded Erik, his voice resounding through the cacophony of the Thaid's monstrous roars.
The sound of his stone-armored fists pounding against the thick, grotesque flesh of the Thaid served as a fitting accompaniment to his words.
Samuel stood like a bulwark between the horrifying creature and Erik, a final line of defense shielding the younger man from the relentless assault.
The awakener hesitated briefly; his eyes darted between the never-ending battle and the exit to the broken lab.
He was torn between the need to stay and help Samuel and the realization that his mana was almost completely depleted, making him more of a liability than an aid in this fight.
After swallowing his pride, Erik looked Samuel in the eyes, gave him a single, affirmative nod, and promptly turned on his heel and ran out of the building.
The echoes of the gruesome battle grew fainter with each step he took, yet the harrowing scene remained seared into his mind, a haunting reminder of the reality they faced.
Samuel's defiant grunts and the Thaid's thunderous roars resonated in his ears long after he had crossed the threshold and plunged into the dimly lit corridors of the military building.
As he fled, Erik was aware that he would abandon Samuel in the fight's thickness.
As he ran, Erik knew he was leaving Samuel in the heart of the battle. But he also knew that Samuel wanted this, that the older man's chances of defeating the Thaid increased if Erik was safe and out of the way now that the young man's mana had ended. Still, the guilt and fear gnawed at him, and he could only pray that Samuel could hold his own.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢